So I'm fairly new to any kind of legitimate holistic approach to skin care and I'll probably never have an excessive eating routine revolved around my skin. I've kinda dabbled here and there and I've made half-assed attempts at eating healthy. I can eat unhealthy occasionally and be fine, I'm not very prone to food-caused breakouts. I'm basically just looking to add some new foods that can help make the skin glow and can help heal marks and skin tone. I've heard things like low fat yogurts, berries, certain types of nuts, flaxseed/cod liver oil(which is better?), almond milk, green tea/red tea, lots of water etc. can help the skin heal faster and glow. Are these all good things I could add to my diet? What else can I look out for?

Right now I eat at least 2 eggs a day(usually more), veggie burgers/veggie sandwiches with loads of avocado, oatmeal(kashi brand), sometimes waffles(whole foods brand), whole foods turkey bacon. For lunch I usually get sandwiches or paninis, usually with chicken+the basics and also sometimes bagels. Also been eating almond/peanut butter. For dinner(this is probably my most unhealthy meal) I get take out a lot. Being in college I don't have a lot of time to prepare foods. I get lots of greek food-chicken and lemon potato's, moroccan and indian-usually chicken/rice, the occasional pizza(twice a month maybe?), sometimes mexican food(burrito's/brown rice), sometimes I'll make more eggs or just have veggie burgers. I'm sure I'm missing some things but that's the jist of it.

Now this food actually rarely, if ever breaks me out unless I go overboard..But I'm trying to bulk up a bit so I don't mind keeping some of this unhealthy stuff in my diet. I just wanted some input on what I could add to maybe balance things out a little and help my overall skin health. Oh I also have dry skin so are there any foods out there that help with that? Any advice would be appreciated.

Plant-based diet is the best medicine for everything.. That's if you consume at least 80% raw, mainly from veggies and fruits.
Exercising: cardio is great for skin and lifting a bit.
Thinking positive and try not to stress or think about acne.

I am doing these and my skin is currently very smooth and clearing up!
I am a vegan raw 100%. I feel better, have more energy, saving animals a year, glow skin, I look younger, etc.

I'm not sure of any foods which specifically make the skin glow. But correct supplementation with all the necessary vitamins your body needs will help you achieve optimum health. Optimum health means the healthiest skin you can have

Pretty well any food with good, natural vitamin E in it is beneficial.

Specifically though;

Probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir -if you tolerate dairy, fermented vegetables, non-pasteurized sauerkraut)Olive Oil, Coconut OilNuts - "Crispy Nuts" --> nuts properly prepared so as to reduce enzyme inhibitors; usually by soaking them for a period of time in salted water

I also find getting a good balance of fats is highly beneficial as well. If you're interested I highly recommend you include the following fats daily in your diet;Extra Virgin Olive Oil (do not cook with it; use it on vegetables, salads, etc.)Virgin Coconut OilOrganic ghee (clarified butter; less allergenic as the milk solids are removed)Cod Liver Oil

"Factors that are known to cause variation in the levels of growth hormone (GH) and IGF-1 in the circulation include an individual's genetic make-up, the time of day, his or her age, gender, exercise status, stress levels, nutrition level and body mass index (BMI), disease state, race, estrogen status and xenobiotic intake."

Plant-based diet is the best medicine for everything.. That's if you consume at least 80% raw, mainly from veggies and fruits.
Exercising: cardio is great for skin and lifting a bit.
Thinking positive and try not to stress or think about acne.

I am doing these and my skin is currently very smooth and clearing up!
I am a vegan raw 100%. I feel better, have more energy, saving animals a year, glow skin, I look younger, etc.

If you litterally want to make your skin glow, take a capsule of Cayenne Pepper every day. Or sprinkle it on your toast with melted cheddar cheese or your veggie soup.

The Cayenne Pepper immediately makes the circulatory system work MUCH faster so that within minutes you feel hot all over. If you live in the north, take a capsule of Cayenne Pepper before going outside. You wont feel the cold because your blood circulates so fast and its effects last for hours.

Also, I read in a medical journal the Cayenne Pepper is the new up and coming medical analgesic in the medical work. It numbs pain within a minute of being applied to the spot. My friend had an EXTREMELY sore throat and read to take 1/4th of teaspoon in orange juice. She did just that and after swallowing it down, the sore throat was numbed 100% for about 2 days. She also said drinking it didn't really bother her as much as she throught it would.

It definitely makes your face glow.

"It takes 20 minutes to turn a live steer into a hamburger. One-third of cattle are blinking, looking around and mooing as their tails are cut off, their hooves removed, their hides pulled off and their bellies ripped open. It is happening all over North America. Veterinarians feel its out of control but the government says there is nothing they can do about it." --The Washington Post's "They Die Piece By Piece" (April 11, 2001)

There are 13 major slaughterhouses in the US. All 13 are "self-policed" for animal abuse. Each worker cuts the throat of about 309 cattle per hour. --Humane Society of America

It is legal in North America for male chicks to be thrown into grinders while alive for dog food companies.

"Poor animals! How jealously they guard their pathetic bodies... that which to us is merely an evening's meal, but to them is life itself." â€” T. Casey Brennan

Yeah, been trying to eat a lot of carrots. In the veggie burgers I eat there's actually quite a lot in them but I think I'll buy them separately and get some kind of dip to go along.

QUOTE (Necromancer @ Oct 25 2008, 12:45 PM)

Water

Case closed.

Yeah for sure. I drink a ton of water a day. It seems to make it harder for me to put on weight but I've still managed to bulk up a bit without trying much. It's definitely helped my skin to an extent though.

QUOTE (solothink @ Oct 25 2008, 12:58 PM)

why do you want oily skin?

Not oily, just balanced. The winter kills my skin in terms of dryness and in turn makes it look dull, dry and marks show more. My skin hates the cold weather. Taking flaxseed has seemed to help make it a little more moist without actually looking oily. I'm just trying to find that balance. The regimen I'm on now is definitely helping my dry skin "repair", was just seeing if anyone knew good foods/tips to help dry skin and help speed up the process of healing marks/uneven skin tone.

Pretty well any food with good, natural vitamin E in it is beneficial.

Specifically though;

Probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir -if you tolerate dairy, fermented vegetables, non-pasteurized sauerkraut)Olive Oil, Coconut OilNuts - "Crispy Nuts" --> nuts properly prepared so as to reduce enzyme inhibitors; usually by soaking them for a period of time in salted water

I also find getting a good balance of fats is highly beneficial as well. If you're interested I highly recommend you include the following fats daily in your diet;Extra Virgin Olive Oil (do not cook with it; use it on vegetables, salads, etc.)Virgin Coconut OilOrganic ghee (clarified butter; less allergenic as the milk solids are removed)Cod Liver Oil

Thanks for the info. I recently got some good probiotic yogurt. I've been trying to have olive oil daily on salads as well, I feel it's helped in the past when I've tried it. As for coconut oil, what can I use it with or put it on, any recommendations? And what exactly are "crispy nuts" - would brazil nuts be in that category?

Yeah, been trying to eat a lot of carrots. In the veggie burgers I eat there's actually quite a lot in them but I think I'll buy them separately and get some kind of dip to go along.

QUOTE (Necromancer @ Oct 25 2008, 12:45 PM)

Water

Case closed.

Yeah for sure. I drink a ton of water a day. It seems to make it harder for me to put on weight but I've still managed to bulk up a bit without trying much. It's definitely helped my skin to an extent though.

QUOTE (solothink @ Oct 25 2008, 12:58 PM)

why do you want oily skin?

Not oily, just balanced. The winter kills my skin in terms of dryness and in turn makes it look dull, dry and marks show more. My skin hates the cold weather. Taking flaxseed has seemed to help make it a little more moist without actually looking oily. I'm just trying to find that balance. The regimen I'm on now is definitely helping my dry skin "repair", was just seeing if anyone knew good foods/tips to help dry skin and help speed up the process of healing marks/uneven skin tone.

No need for dip with carrots... best to have them without. Baby carrots taste good enough to me just straight, they are a big snack for me.

"Factors that are known to cause variation in the levels of growth hormone (GH) and IGF-1 in the circulation include an individual's genetic make-up, the time of day, his or her age, gender, exercise status, stress levels, nutrition level and body mass index (BMI), disease state, race, estrogen status and xenobiotic intake."

Pretty well any food with good, natural vitamin E in it is beneficial.

Specifically though;

Probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir -if you tolerate dairy, fermented vegetables, non-pasteurized sauerkraut)Olive Oil, Coconut OilNuts - "Crispy Nuts" --> nuts properly prepared so as to reduce enzyme inhibitors; usually by soaking them for a period of time in salted water

I also find getting a good balance of fats is highly beneficial as well. If you're interested I highly recommend you include the following fats daily in your diet;Extra Virgin Olive Oil (do not cook with it; use it on vegetables, salads, etc.)Virgin Coconut OilOrganic ghee (clarified butter; less allergenic as the milk solids are removed)Cod Liver Oil

Thanks for the info. I recently got some good probiotic yogurt. I've been trying to have olive oil daily on salads as well, I feel it's helped in the past when I've tried it. As for coconut oil, what can I use it with or put it on, any recommendations? And what exactly are "crispy nuts" - would brazil nuts be in that category?

To get my dose of coconut oil, I cook with it or there are coconut "spreads" or "butters" out there that you can eat straight if you like (tastes great on it's own) or spread on whatever you like. I even used to just eat the oil straight (if you buy virgin it's got a mild coconut flavour) until I discovered coconut butter.

Crispy nuts is a term used by some traditional foods experts to describe nuts that have been soaked in salted water for a period of time and then slowly dehydrated. From personal experience, I can tell you that pecans prepared in this way are amazing. I'm not sure about brazil nuts; I've never seen a recipe for preparing them and lots of people claim that the shelled ones commonly available aren't appropriate for soaking.

Just keep adding healthy food items to your diet. Keep a log and categorize it. Change it up. Learn new recipes and incorporate the healthy foods you add in that log. A particular food that makes my skin heal quick and look less flaky and dried out is apples. I usually drink a bottle of Nantucket Nectars Pressed Apple Juice once a week and try and eat as many apples (mcintosh and red delicious) during the week as I possibly can.

The thing that saved me from acne was Dan's BP solution and a healthy lifestyle of tons of cardio and a well balanced diet with tons of healthy things like aloe vera juice, green tea, and limited dairy intake.